Taking the perspective of customers: theory, exercises, experiences and practical recommendations

It is important that companies consider their products and services, as well as new ideas concerning them, from the customer's viewpoint. We assert that simple empathising exercises can, when facilitated skilfully, help companies in this pursuit. This article presents a series of five empathising exercises, the theoretical notions behind them, an analysis of the experiences of business developers who put them into practice, and practical advice for facilitating them. The central component of the exercises is using customer persona as target of empathising. Our empirical analysis shows how the process of empathising, i.e., taking the perspective of the customer persona, is depicted by the business developers who participated in the exercises.